Log in to snowHeads to make it MUCH better! Registration's totally free, of course, and makes snowHeads easier to use and to understand, gives better searching, filtering etc. as well as access to 'members only' forums, discounts and deals that U don't even know exist as a 'guest' user. (btw. 50,000+ snowHeads already know all this, making snowHeads the biggest, most active community of snow-heads in the UK, so you'll be in good company)..... When you register, you get our free weekly(-ish) snow report by email.
It's rather good and not made up by tourist offices (or people that love the tourist office and want to marry it either)... We don't share your email address with anyone and we never send out any of those cheesy 'message from our partners' emails either. Anyway, snowHeads really is MUCH better when you're logged in - not least because you get to post your own messages complaining about things that annoy you like perhaps this banner which, incidentally, disappears when you log in :-)

Swollen feet remedy?

I have always suffered when skiing with swollen feet. As a result after a couple of hours I get the crushing feet pain. No matter what I have tried with boots I have to suffer it on every trip. This is caused by a number of things, altitude, cold as well as the restriction to circulation buckling the boots causes. Is there a medication I can safely use that will reduce the swelling in my feet and hence the discomfort but be safe to obviously have with the après beers later in the day.
Whilst trekking in the Pyrenees I again noticed my feet swell up with the combination of altitude and the heat. 57 year old, in good health and would I'm fit for my age.

Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person

Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person

Funnily enough I was having a conversation today with a friend whose doctor daughter has been working in Addis Ababba. On a high mountain trek there, she was advised by another local doctor to take Dioralyte while at altitude to realign her electrolytes to make her feel better & reduce the swelling in her fingers. I've no idea if it works, but might be worth a try

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

@genepi, interesting. I get swollen fingers at altitude, but not feet.

Again, funny you say that as my Trek was the Camino De Santiago in northern Spain which was 600 odd miles and the first 2/3 weeks I was drinking dioralyte a lot to keep my levels up. Feet still did swell after 2/3 hours and was put right by simply stopping for 5 minutes remove my boots and massage my feet. If I ignored it was very painful but not to the degree of ski boots which I am sure is then made a lot worse due to the securing buckles on them which when the feet swell cuts off circulation.
To think I every year and sometimes twice put myself through this for the love of skiing and the mountains.
Thanks for your replies.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Non elastic socks might help.. I find that boots thta are too tight when snowboarding can make sollen feet a lot worse.

@Scarlet Fez, have you seen (in not any particular order) either a very good, recommended boot fitter (boots maybe causing circulation issues) or a doctor/foot expert?

Buckling boots up should cause circulation issues.

After all it is free

After all it is free

Massage is the best remedy for swollen feet. Also you can soak your feet in tonic water which help to reduce swelling. You can also do a salt water soak instead of tonic soak.

You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.

You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.

Massage is one of the effective ways to improve blood circulation and reduce swelling, but this can only be done after the end of the day. During the day, I rely on men compression hose stockings that support blood vessels to reduce swelling in my legs. After the calf is supported, the support pressure of the muscles is reduced and they can remain in their original position without expanding.